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Sunflower Seed Nori Rolls
Last night, I co-taught a forum on improving thyroid health. I focused mainly on eating more sea vegetables since they are such a fantastic source of the minerals that support your thyroid. One easy way to get more sea vegetables is to use Nori as a wrap in place of a tortilla. I love sunflower seed spread (sunflower seeds are also a good source of minerals) and it is really tasty wrapped in Nori with fresh vegetables inside. Below is the recipe I prepared for last nights participants–Enjoy!!
Sunflower Seed Nori Rolls
1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds, soaked overnight*
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup tamari (soy sauce)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
In a food processor, process the soaked sunflower seeds, lemon juice, scallions, tahini, tamari, parsley, garlic and cayenne until the mixture is a smooth paste. Season to taste, adding more tamari or cayenne as needed.
*Soaking the seeds overnight makes them more digestible and easier to blend into a creamy paste. Discard soaking water and rinse seeds, removing hulls that have come off. If you don’t have time, you can soak for an hour instead.
4-6 sheets nori
1 cucumber, peeled, and cut into thin strips
1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
2 carrots, peeled and grated
Sesame seeds or Gomasio for garnish (optional)
Lay 1 nori sheet, rough side up, on cutting board. Spread some of the sunflower seed spread mixture on nori with spatula. Stack cucumber strip, avocado slice, pepper slice, grated carrots, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds in narrow line 1-inch from long edge of nori sheet. Fold nori sheet over vegetables, and roll sheet away from you as tightly as possible. Dab edge of nori sheet with water to seal and close. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut each roll into bite-size pieces with serrated knife that you keep dipping in water to clean. Enjoy!!!
To find out more about Jennifer’s Meal Plan including how to try it FREE for 30 days, be sure to click here.
Hara Hachi Bu to You!
Residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa, who are among the oldest and healthiest people on the planet, have a great expression concerning healthy eating habits: Hara hachi bu. Hara hachi bu means “Eat until 80% full”.
In general, Okinawans eat 10 percent to 40 percent fewer calories than Americans. In a recent study, Japanese researchers from Osaka University announced that people who eat fast and eat until they feel full are 3 times more likely to gain weight, as compared with those who eat slowly and modestly.
How can you apply this principal at home? Try eating until you feel just slightly full, then wait 20 minutes. Remember, it takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you have eaten so give it the time it needs! Research suggests that many people are satisfied after following the 80 percent rule, even though they eat less.
I love this concept because it can help you eat less without any need to count calories or give up the foods you love! Yea for that!
Until next week, Eat Well, Be Well and LOVE Every Bite!
~Jennifer
Enjoy the following delicious recipe slowly and deliberately!
Moroccan Chickpeas and Chard
Serves 4-6
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serve this dish over brown rice or quinoa.
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon thyme
1 28-oz can plum tomatoes with liquid
1 bunch swiss chard, washed, and chopped
2 15-oz cans chickpeas or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot with a lid, heat the olive oil, onion, and garlic over medium. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until onion is getting clear, then add the paprika, cumin, turmeric, and thyme. Stir together and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with the back of a spoon. Add chickpeas and chard simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chard is cooked and wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve over grain of choice.
This recipe and food for thought are excerpted from my weekly meal plan. Every week, you get 4 healthy recipes, an organized shopping list and coupons to New Leaf Community Markets. You can try it FREE for a month by clicking here.
Treasures From The Sea & Chana Dal Soup
Why are fish so good for you? Because they eat sea vegetables! Skip the middle-man and save money by eating the sea vegetable yourself!
Did you know that sea vegetables contain up to ten to twenty times the minerals of other foods? These veggies from the sea are absolutely loaded with minerals like calcium, magnesium and zinc. They are also the richest whole food source of iodine, a mineral that helps to keep the thyroid functioning properly. Sea vegetables are SO good for you, but for many they are an acquired taste. I confess, I do not LOVE the taste of sea vegetables on their own, so I typically hide them in recipes, like cooking my beans with the sea vegetable Kombu. By cooking bean based soups and stews with kombu, you can add valuable minerals to the beans, which soften them and make them more digestible (read: less gas!). When the soup is ready, you can take out the kombu, cut it up and put it back in the soup or remove it completely.
Want to learn more about sea vegetables? Join me on February 16th from 6-8 pm for a Sea Vegetable Cooking Class. You will learn about the different varieties of sea vegetables and how to add them to your diet effortlessly. We will prepare several tasty sea vegetable dishes from recipes that you can take home to replicate. Prepare to feel GREAT after this mineral intensive class! For more information and to register, please click here.
Enjoy the following delicious soup recipe that uses Kombu. Until Next Time, Eat Well, Be Well and LOVE Every Bite!
~Jennifer
Chana Dal Soup
Serves 6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Equipment Needed: Soup pot
Chana Dal are baby chickpeas, very cute indeed! If you can’t find them, you could substitute yellow split peas.
FREEZE RIGHT THERE! This soup will freeze well without the baby spinach, so add spinach leaves to each bowl instead of the whole pot.
1 Tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
1 large leek, washed well and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry chana dal (baby chickpeas) or yellow split peas
1 strip kombu (See What is It? Below)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 1/2 cups water
1 15-oz can coconut milk
1-2 Tablespoons thai chili paste**
1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
Melt oil in a large saucepan. Add leek, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add dal, kombu stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until dal is tender.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and put it in a small saucepan. Now add the rest of the can of coconut milk to the soup along with the lemon juice.
HAVE KIDS OR PEOPLE WHO CAN’T TOLERATE SPICY FOODS? At this point, take out enough soup for them. It will need some salt and pepper but will be pretty tasty even without all of the other stuff. Then, just follow the rest of the directions.
Heat the 1/4 cup coconut milk over medium heat and add the chili paste(**In small batches of 1-2 teaspoons at a time), whisking until paste is completely dissolved. Stir this mixture into soup pot thoroughly, heating through. Taste for spiciness and for salt and pepper. If you think it needs more spice, take out some of the hot soup liquid, put it in the small saucepan and dissolve more chili paste into it. Then add that to the pot. In other words, don’t add a blop of chili paste into the soup without making sure it is dissolved 1st. This is NOT something you want to take a big bite of, for sure! And yes, I am speaking from experience!
When ready to serve, remove Kombu and Serve in bowls with a 1/2 cup baby spinach leaves (ask kids to find the buried treasure!) on the bottom. The hot soup will wilt the greens. Enjoy!!
What is it? KOMBU? Kombu is a sea vegetable (otherwise known as kelp) that is a rich source of minerals, including calcium, magnesium and iodine. By cooking soups and stews with kombu, you can add valuable minerals to the pot of soup. Plus, kombu actually helps to make beans more digestible. When the soup is ready, you can either take out the kombu, cut it up and put it back in the soup or remove it completely.
This recipe is from my Weekly Meal Plan. You get 4 healthy recipes, an organized shopping list and coupons to New Leaf Community Markets. You can try it free for a month by going to www.nourishingnutrition.com.
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